Natural Disasters and Human Behavior

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Behavioral Medicine Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 1 - 4
• Main Author: HIROI, Osamu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine 1999
• ISSN: 1341-6790; 2188-0085
• DOI: 10.11331/jjbm.5.1

From the viewpoint of social psychology, we can suggest there are 2 different aspects in human attitudes to nature disasters such as earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, storms and floods. One is to think little of disasters and become defenseless. The other is to fear disasters excessively and to be confused. In many case, these two psychological attitudes exists in one person. He sometimes underestimates damages before disasters happen, but is excessively afraid that disasters may attack him. People underestimate damages of disasters partly because they have little knowledge of natural disasters. For example, after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, it was pointed out that many people in Kobe had groundless belief that no big earthquake could attack them, and had not sufficient countermeasures to earthquake. But many seismologists warned that big earthquakes might happen around Kobe or Osaka. There was great knowledge-gap between specialists and general people about disasters and it might expand damages of the earthquake. People underestimate damages of disasters partly because they could not believe they might be killed or wounded while they had much knowledge about disaster. For instance, in eruption of the Unzen Mountain in 1993 large pyroclastic flow killed more than 10 journalists who had stepped in very dangerous area. Many of them got fairly deep knowledge of pyroclastic flow to cover the eruption, but they least expected the very flow might attack them. However, such psychological attitudes are totally changed after a large disaster occurred, and many people become sensitive excessively. They thought since the large disaster unexpectedly happened, the other disasters would occur at any time. They became uneasy and anxious. About a week after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, rumors such that another great earthquake of seismic intensity 6 would attack Kobe and Osaka spread widely in the damaged area, and many people asked meteorological observatories and fire stations. We cannot say it is a great social confusion, but all such cases occur after great disasters occurred.